News

05.23.12Seven Brooklyn Law Students Selected for 2012 New York Joint Minority Bar Association Summer Judicial Internship Program

Seven Brooklyn Law Students were selected for the 2012 New York Joint Minority Bar Association Summer Judicial Internship Program. The program offers law students who have completed at least one year of law school the opportunity to intern in New York and New Jersey federal and state courthouses. The program was created through the joint efforts of the Association of Judges of Hispanic Heritage, the Asian American Bar Association of New York, the Asian American Law Fund of New York, the Dominican Bar Association, the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, the Puerto Rican Bar Association, and the South Asian Bar Association.

Student interns work full-time for eight to ten weeks. Those who do not receive credit for their internships receive a stipend of $1000. Students also take part in an orientation program sponsored by Arnold & Porter that covers courtroom and chambers etiquette, and offers a primer on research and writing and career advice.

The program first began nine years ago as the Puerto Rican Bar Judicial Internship Program, which at the time was awarded to between five and eight students of Puerto Rican or Latin American heritage. In 2009, under the leadership of Linda Lin ’03, a senior attorney with Liberty International Underwriters, and Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick ’93, an associate at Thompson Hine, LLP, it became the New York Joint Minority Bar Association Judicial Internship Program, and was expanded to include any student who demonstrated a commitment to diversity. The program’s screening committee is made up exclusively of former law clerks and court attorneys who place an average of 30 students each summer from a pool of 300 applicants.

Lin expanded the program to create opportunities for students who might not otherwise have the chance to work with a judge. “I had the benefit of interning for both Judge Denny Chin in the Eastern District of New York and Judge Dorothy Chin Brandt in Queens Supreme Court while in law school, which was such a transformative experience,” she said. “It was not just about the lessons I learned regarding how to apply the law, or draft an opinion. I was mentored and developed professional networks, which I believe will benefit me in ways that other internships cannot. These judges are making a difference in the lives of many students because of their desire to teach and mentor.”

Brooklyn Law School congratulates the following students who were selected:

Leon Calleja ’13:Hon. Dora Irizarry, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn

Jenny Chung ’14:Hon. Leslie J. Purificacion, New York City Civil Court, Queens County

Samuel Lee ’14:Hon. Carmen Velazquez, New York City Civil Court, Queens County